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Batgirl (Volume 4) Issue 23
Synopsis "Batgirl: Wanted, Part One of Three: Manhunt" Commissioner Gordon and Detective Melody McKenna arrive at the Three Towers complex in Cherry Hill to find a defensive Charise Carnes, who reminds them that the DA threw out the charges against her based on McKenna's claims that she is the vigilante known as Knightfall. They are not there to talk to her about that, however, though McKenna is enraged by Carnes' teasing. The Commissioner explains that he is there to request Carnes' help in finding a different killer - Batgirl, who killed his son. Taking on a sympathetic disposition, Carnes offers to help in any way she can, granting him access to surveillance tapes for the two nights that Batgirl was seen at the complex. Despite her cooperation, Carnes is still concerned that Gordon has his sights set on her. Meanwhile, his daughter Barbara is out shopping for once with her friend and roommate Alysia Yeoh. The experience is welcome, given that Barbara's injury and recovery made her withdraw to the point that she barely had any friends to do anything with, until now. As their credit cards make them both increasingly indebted, Barbara is put off by a pair of young men who begin giving them cat-calls. Alysia suggests that they just ignore it, but the resigned way in which she says it makes Barbara uncomfortable. The men are persistent, and as they become more aggressive, the fear in Alysia's voice drives Barbara to lose control of her building rage. As they pass through a food-court, she grabs a plate from a table and smashes it into pieces, brandishing one of the sharp-edged shards like a weapon. To Alysia's great surprise, she addresses the men, and warns that she will forcibly separate them from their genitals if they don't leave she and Alysia alone. As the men run away, Barbara looks at the broken plate in her hand, and sees in her mind the Batarang that she had thrown at her brother, piercing his eye, and sending him falling to his likely death. Comfortingly, Alysia puts her arms around her friend, and suggests that they go home. Barbara realizes that if she doesn't do something to deal with all of this rage, it could destroy her. Later, McKenna and the Commissioner are still on the case, and Melody suggests that Jim doesn't need to do the legwork on this investigation. He ignores her, and when she further suggests that she doesn't believe that Batgirl could be entirely responsible for the crime, Jim warns that his eye witness account trumps her hunches. Conceding, Melody pulls over, and they prepare to question Ricky Gutierrez, a young man with a record whom Batgirl has been seen with of late. Ricky, meanwhile, has just received a call from the leader of the Sixty-Eight Kings street gang, who are not pleased to have had their territory encroached on by Ricky's elder brother. They think Ricky's just as responsible, and require that he come and watch them use a new high-tech gun on his older brother Rolo, or else they will come for his mother and for Barbara. Worriedly, Ricky warns his mother to stay with her sister. As Barbara and Alysia are getting into the door of their apartment, she receives a call from Ricky, and is happy to hear from him. His tone, though, worries her, as he explains that he can't see her anymore, admitting that he's not a good choice for her. She intuits that he must be in trouble, and he assures her that it's probably the last time he'll be in trouble, choosing not to explain that the reason it will be the last is because he's probably going to get killed. As she reminds him that the criminal aspect of his life is over, Ricky apologizes and hangs up on her. Not long after hanging up, Commissioner Gordon arrives at Ricky's door, and he decides to sneak out the fire-escape. That happens to be where McKenna is waiting, having guessed that he might make a run for it. Desperately, he shoves her aside, causing her head to collide with the steel railing. Gordon rushes past Mrs. Gutierrez, and when he finds Melody unconscious he calls for an ambulance and puts out an APB on Ricky, warning that he is dangerous. As he searches through the house, though, Gordon is taken aback when he discovers a photo of Ricky and his daughter Barbara together. As Ricky seeks out his brother Rolo, Barbara attempts to follow him using the GPS tracker she placed on his phone. At the same time, a pair of beat-cops recognize Ricky, and begin following him as well. They manage to corner him against a wall, ready to shoot him down, and Barbara is forced to disguise herself and fight off her father's own police officers for Ricky's sake. Ricky, meanwhile takes the opportunity to enter the abandoned building where his brother is being held by the Sixty-Eight Kings. The man with a gun to Rolo's head is the same man who had his ass kicked by Barbara while she and Ricky were on their date. Now, he wants revenge by making Ricky watch Rolo die. From the skylight above, Barbara counts eight armed gangsters, and hears the police sirens coming. This cannot end well. Betting on herself, Barbara crashes through the skylight, and hopes she can handle it on her own. Elsewhere, Knightfall and her cohorts learn that the police are assembling around the Sixty-Eight Kings' hideout. Given that she gave that gang amnesty and supplied them with weapons, Knightfall assumes that it is a move to catch her. In response, she has Bonebreaker assemble The Disgraced - a group of would-be criminals who were all foiled by Batgirl at one point. With their help, Charise Carnes intends to see Commissioner Gordon dead. Barbara realizes quickly that she will not be fast enough to take all of the gangsters down before they make a move on him or Rolo. She doesn't expect him to defend himself and his brother. Angrily, Ricky lashes out at Tyrell, the Kings' leader, and warns him that this is over. As the police arrive, Tyrell's fellow gangmembers book it. Barbara discovers, though, that Ricky is intent on killing Tyrell, and Tyrell isn't doing much to prevent it, taunting Ricky with threats against his mother. Just then, Gordon and his men burst in to see Barbara, Ricky, Tyrell, and Rolo standing there in tableau. Ricky is armed, and they warn that they will fire if he doesn't drop the weapon. This spurs Tyrell to raise his own weapon to take down Rolo - he has nothing to lose, after all. The Commissioner takes a shot, and concerned for Ricky, Barbara knocks him out of the way. Unfortunately, he was hit, and Barbara has lost another man from her life. Appearances "Batgirl: Wanted, Part One of Three: Manhunt" Individuals *James Gordon *Melody McKenna *Knightfall *Bleak Michael *Bonebreaker *Barbara Gordon *Alysia Yeoh *James Gordon, Jr. *Ricky Gutierrez *Rolo Gutierrez *Sixty-Eight Kings **Tyrell *Helen Gutierrez Locations *Gotham City **Cherry Hill District ***Three Towers **Gotham P.S. 68 Items *Batarang Links *http://www.dccomics.com/comics/batgirl-2011/batgirl-23 *http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batgirl_Vol_4_23 *http://www.comicvine.com/batgirl-23-batgirl-wanted-part-one-of-three-manhun/4000-421653/ Category:Batgirl (Volume 4) Issues